(July 07, 2005)

After the whole misunderstanding, Takemitchi, Mikey, and Draken were now riding their bikes along the riverside. Well, Mikey was sitting on the back of his own bike while Takemitchi was the one peddling.

'Is this guy really the leader of Toman in twelve years...?' Takemitchi thinks to himself. In the future, the Tokyo Manji Gang is a heinous gang that were responsible for gambling, fraud, murder, and other crimes that could lead to the death penalty. Then again, the probably had connections with the police.

"Underground fights are stupid."

"There's no way I'd lay a hand on a girl."

"Uhm, Mikey-kun," Takemitchi calls out to him. "Why are you bothering with a guy like me?"

Mikey was looking at him for a moment, as if he was unamused. "What a stupid question."

"My bad, sorry." Takemitchi laughed it off but in his head he was just... genuinely curious about this. "It's just that, we live in different worlds."

"We breathe the same air," Mikey says bluntly. 

"It feels like we don't," Takemitchi admitted quietly, hoping that he didn't hear him.

There was a comfortable silence before Mikey smiled. "You remind me of my older brother," he starts. "He's ten years older than me, and he's a reckless guy. He'd pick a fight against someone stronger than him like it's normal." He lets out a soft laugh. "A weakling who's gutsy enough to pick a fight with someone tougher... you remind me of him, Takemitchy."

Takemitchi looks at him, surprised. "You think so?" He asks, then lets out a laugh of his own. "He sounds like a cool person."

"He's way better looking, though." Mikey says with a snicker. "And he wasn't as lame as you." He jumps off the bike and Takemitchi struggles to make it stop before eventually falling down. They had a good laugh out of it, though this was the first time Takemitchi managed to laugh along with them, rather than the two laughing at him.

They stopped by the view of the river, with Mikey looking over like he was looking at the horizon. Though, from the way he stands, he probably was. "This an era were delinquents were called, 'lame', isn't it?" He asks.

'I see... so that way of thinking already spread, even back now.' Takemitchi thinks to himself.

"There were a lot of street gangs back during my brother's era," Mikey faces to Takemitchi with a smile. "They'd ride through the streets with their loud pipes, everyone acted big, and you'd listen to your intuition and acted on it..." He faces back to the river. "All they did was fight, but everyone took care of themselves."

Mikey sits down on the grass, still smiling. "That's why I'm going to create an era of delinquents."

He looks at Takemitchi, who was now standing up. "You should come with us. I like you."

Takemitchi blinked at that. "Excuse me?"

Mikey let out another laugh. "I like your guts, if that makes any sense."

"Tough guys are a dime a dozen," Draken starts. "But you'll take on anyone to protect something you care about. That's rare nowadays."

Mikey stood up now. "Think about it," He says to him. "The era that Kokuō made... I want you accompanying me on that journey to making that same era, Takemitchy."

Takemitchy looked at him. Kokuō? Where had he heard that name before...?

"I hope you could stay a little longer this time, Kokuō likes seeing you."

"His name means king?"

"Ah, Kokuō's just a nickname. His brother requested that he'd be called that for the majority of his confinement."

"Think about it, okay?" Draken says and he gets on his bike. "Mikey, come on. I'm staying at your place tonight, remember?"

Mikey pats Takemitchi's shoulders. "See you later! I hadn't been able to have fun like that in a little while!"

Mikey gets his bike off of the ground and he rides away with Draken, leaving Takemitchi in shock.

'Kokuō... he's Mikey's older brother!?'

"Shin-nii!" Mikey enters inside his older brother's hospital room. After the good news (and bad news) that Shinichiro was in a stable condition, people were allowed to visit his room. Mansaku and Emma had visited earlier in the day, so it was Mikey's turn to visit.

He had a plastic bag with a couple of snacks. "I met someone cool today, he's kind of like you." Mikey says with a laugh as he takes one of the chairs. "Maybe you can meet him, too! If I trust him enough, he can come to the hospital!"

No response. What was Mikey even expecting? Shinichiro couldn't even talk, and he was just staring off into space. His eyes were still as lifeless as ever, and that stare was just... hurting him. Mikey had felt sadness before, but it was... different.

But he kept up his hopes. The doctor did say that Shinichiro has a chance to recover! Even if he would be on a wheelchair or on crutches, he'd be able to live a normal life! 

"...hey, Shin-nii," Mikey had a sad smile this time, but he looks down. "...won't you say something? Or do anything?"

There was nothing.

"...Manjiro...?"

Mikey looked up, shocked. He saw that Shinichiro was looking at him rather than at the wall. His eyes were still lifeless, but he was still looking at him.

And he even talked.

"Yeah... y-yeah, I'm Manjiro, remember?" Mikey's voice started to break a little. 

Shinichiro was still staring, before he eventually stared back into the wall.

Mikey was more than relieved, but he didn't say anything.

"...just heal slowly," Mikey managed to say, and he smiles. "Gramps and Emma and I... we'll be waiting," He stands up. "I'll leave this here for Hito-nee and Wakasa-san."

Mikey leaves the plastic bag on the table before leaving the room.

He didn't know if his heart was going to break soon.